Like Chess Pieces
by Dying Lights
Summary: Kuroko Tetsuya has a secret: he wants to conquer the world. As a teen, he meets 5 year old Seijuro, who promises to make it happen. (lame summary, giftfic, everyone's character is a bit darker than they are in cannon)
1. Chapter 1

Kuroko Tetsuya is a boy of sixteen years of age, of average height and build. An average student, who works part-time as a daycare assistant. He possesses a cute face, and is polite and kind.

And wants to rule the world.

It's all a facade, a carefully crafted mask he wears around the people, around the kids he's supposed to take care, while he studies their behaviour. Many of those kids don't like him. Perhaps they can feel, as if they have a sixth sense, that he's, in fact, _different_ , and not in the nice, neither in the neutral, meaning of the word.

And then, there's Seijuro.

Seijuro is a five year old red haired boy, who usually sits on a corner, reading a book suited for people at Kuroko's age instead of the picture books kids his age usually read. Sometimes, he pulls out of his bag a small-sized chessboard with magnetic pieces and plays against himself. Other times, he watches the kids and caretakers around him the same way Tetsuya does, and the azure-eyed teen _knows_ Seijuro is special.

One day, Seijuro approaches him, pulls of his sleeve, and he asks if his caretaker is willing for a game.

"Kuroko-sensei... Chess?" he asks, innocently tilting his head on the side, with a wide, hopeful smile on his face.

He can't deny the boy. He can tell, if he does, the boy will throw his, probably silent, crocodile tears, because the boy knows this will put the teen in an unfavourable situation. He won't throw a tantrum like other kids, because that's childish, instead, he'll use different means to get what he wants.

Kuroko gives him the game Seijuro wants, and surprisingly, he loses in less than five minutes.

The adults around him mutter praises behind his back on managing the little boy that never seemed to approach any, or accept their company.

At that, Kuroko decides to teach the redhead _his_ ways.

It's subtle hints and tidbits at first, but Seijuro looks so interested in it, never enchanted by it, but looking as if he seriously considers walking down that path, that Kuroko can't help but wanting to risk telling him more, showing him more, being more straightforward about what he does, what he wants, what it feels like. He can see at the boy's blood red eyes that he knows what he's hearing, he understands instead of beeing swayed by pretty words, and Kuroko can't help but wonder if Seijuro has already witnessed the dark side of the world.

 _ **(He has, but Kuroko doesn't learn about it but only after years later.)**_

He knows it's Seijuro's last day in the daycare, because the boy gives him a black King piece, with the kanji for black neatly written on its bottom (and he has a feeling that it's Seijuro's handwriting), in all irony, in white.

"I will return." he promises, and pulls out of his pocket, only for him to see, the black Queen piece, this one carries the kanji for red in its fitting colour, and Kuroko can only think of the analogy the younger had thrown at him, not knowing if he should feel flattered for being called a leader, or angry for being dubbed as the weakest piece on the board, while the redhead entitled himself as the strongest.

"I will find the others." he continues, and Kuroko can't help but think of the other pieces, a Knight, a Bishop, a Rook, and a Pawn. He can't help but wonder what kind of people Seijuro will collect for him to use, and if they'll know they'll be placed in his hands to play with, and if they'll do so willingly, like the redhead did before them. "Everyone has dark desires residing within them; the point is, who makes a move at achieving what they desire most." he explains. "You and I... We're that kind of people, aren't we?" he asks with a seemingly innocent smile, a smile only the two of them know it's fake, and walks away, without waiting for a reply.

He walks away with his head held high, confident and proud, as though he holds the world in the palm of his hands, not a king of the board, not a king of the real world, more than true to his nameshake, more than a Conqueror of all.

 _ **(to be continued, maybe)**_

I exchange Kuroko no Basket AU ideas with an online friend. Like, almost every day, one of us will come up with a new AU and each one will seem better than the other (so far the AU count is at 20). To quote them, this is the _"_ _AU where Kuroko is an evil mastermind who wants to take over the world and he does it by playing Basketball, using his teammates to slowly take over the universe without anyone noticing_ _"_ but without the basketball part on Kuroko's side. At least for now.

I personally like to call this the **Kuroko is a manipulative, evil little shit AU**.

I was going to do Shogi parallels if I knew how. Instead, you get chess ones, because that's what I'm familiar with. So here they are (along with the 'future' pieces):

Kuroko as King: Although the King is seen as the piece who ''moves the strings'', it's actually the weakest piece, and the one the rest of the pieces on the board protect. In addition, if you allow your King to be captured, you lose the game.

Akashi as Queen: The most powerful piece on the board. At the player's whims, the Queen follows all move patterns apart from the Knight's, the strongest and most fearful. A game without a Queen can turn out to be hard, and almost impossible without it if you depend too much in it.

Kise as Pawn: Seemingly the weakest on the board (like Kise refers himself as the weakest of the Generation of Miracles), it can be promoted to any piece but the King (somewhat mirroring the Perfect Copy ability), and definitely not to be underestimated.

Murasakibara as Rook: Towers in history played the defensive role and we can't deny that Mukkun looks like the tower the Rooks are depicted as.

Aomine as Knight: The unconventional move pattern of the Knight reminds me of Aomine's formless play style. It's kind of obvious, no?

Midorima as Bishop: Well, nothing else is left now, is there.


	2. Chapter 2

It had been ten years since he last saw the little redhead, and he had begun to believe that he was forgotten. Not that he had expected any different, he mused, as he played with the black king piece on his fingers.

So, it was an unexpected surprise when, that Saturday afternoon, a sleek black sports car was parked in front of his home in Tokyo, and encountering a man on his doorstep, dressed in black, tall and intimidating (to someone not like him at least), demanding to be followed into the car.

"Akashi-sama requests your presence in Kyoto."

Kuroko's eyes widened. _Kyoto?_ Couldn't that Akashi person come here instead of dragging him wherever in Kyoto that man stayed. And why did he have to go there in the first place? What made him so important?

"Akashi-sama believes he can offer you assistance as a business _partner._ " he strained the words, as if he was trying to give them a special meaning, and the teal-haired male understood.

 _Business partner._ It meant that whoever that person was, knew what he was up to. For how long, he didn't know, but that was one of the finer details of it. Quickly weighing his options, he decided.

"I believe I should make myself presentable before I follow you."

The man didn't focus on him, the only emotion shown in his voice being indifference.

"Akashi-sama wouldn't mind." he claimed, and Kuroko Tetsuya found no other way but to follow.

And that was how he found himself in an expensive car, speeding from one city to another. Surprisingly, no one stopped them, and that made him suspicious. Was the car recognizable, connected to his owner? And if that was the case, what kind of person was he?

He didn't realise they parked in front of a five-star hotel, unconsiously being led to the top floor, the man pointing him to the penthouse entrance. He perceived it as a sign to move alone. Knocking, he heard a faint _enter_ , and gently pushed the door and walked in.

He saw five men of different builds, different expressions and different colour schemes. There was green, purple, yellow, a blue darker than his, closer to the sea than his own sky, and finally, red.

It was the red that spoke first. "Why don't we introduce ourselves to our quest?" he suggested. "Or should I say... King?" he gave an all-knowing smirk.

 _King?_ the word plagued his mind. Did it refer to his piece, the piece he unconsciously carried with him almost wherever he went?

"Akashi-cchi, he sure doesn't look like it." the yellow complained.

"Are you doubting me, Ryota?" the redhead gave his cold reply. _That must be the one who brought me here,_ Kuroko thought.

The blond turned his attention to him once again, and flashed a golden smile. He wore what looked like a semi-formal, expensive, designer suit. "I'm Kise Ryota~" he introduced himself, pulling out a black chess piece. _"Pawn."_

The name echoed somewhat familiar to his head, connecting it to the modeling world. A famous, prodigal, well-sought, teenage model. _Seriously?_ Meeting a person like that, who had already achieved everything he seemingly wished for, made him feel embarrassed for himself who, even though he was halfway through the third decade of his life, was far from achieving his own goals.

The blue-haired one stood next to the golden one, his appearance in complete contrast. He was tanned and had more muscle compared to Kise's lean figure, wearing a pair of torn jeans and a band t-shirt. "Aomine Daiki. _Knight._ "

Next stood the purple-haired giant in slow lethargic steps. He wore his clothes sloppily, unlike the other two (Kise was sharp dressed, while Aomine's choice of clothing wasn't meant to be neatly dressed). "Murasakibara Atsushi." he gave his name, the bored expression never leaving his face. _"Rook."_

Next was the tall, green-haired one. What had caught Kuroko's attention was that he had the fingers of his left hand taped. Was it an injury, perhaps?

"I'm Midorima Shintarou, I have experience as a surgeon." he claimed, as he, along with the rest, presented him with a black chess piece each. _"Bishop."_

Kuroko's sight moved from Kise to Aomine, then to Murasakibara, following Midorima, finally allowing his gaze to rest at the mysterious redhead, who stood up, walking towards him, steps with overflowing confidence and effortless grace. Unlike the rest, who wore modern clothing, his choice of clothing was more traditional (and quite unconventional, if one took into consideration that, they were, in fact, at a modern, luxurious hotel), wearing a scarlet yukata with abstract, golden patterns that, if you focused your sight in them, they'd remind you of dragons and legendary beasts.

"Akashi Seijurou," he introduced himself, "and I can't believe you forgot about your _Queen_ that easy, _Tetsuya~_ " he mocked.

Kuroko felt his mind stop working and his eyes focusing entirely on the one who stood between him and the rest. He couldn't help but compare the one standing before him to the image of the five year old boy from ten years past. Sure, there were some similarities, like the way his fiery red hair framed his head, or his crimson eyes looked at him with honest curiosity. But the differences were most defining: His posture and aura were more demanding than inviting, and his left eye now possessed a menacing, golden hue.

"I'm wounded by such cold display~" the jeer continued. "Did I ever seem like the kind of person to forget a promise, or back down on my words?" No, he never thought of little Seijuro of the kind of person who discards his promises, but had forced himself to get his hopes up. He felt himself shake his head, and witnessed a wicked smile forming on the heterochromatic teen.

"Then, why don't you introduce yourself formally?" he suggested, nodding in agreement.

"Kuroko Tetsuya. 25. _King._ "

Seijuro smiled again. "The _Generation of Miracles_ welcomes you, _King_." the _Queen_ replied, that dark smile never leaving his expression.

 **(chapter end)**

At first, thank you everyone for the faves, follows, and reviews. It pumped me up for updating sooner than planned, and I hope the chapter I prepared is enjoyable.

Who those who like Tokyo Ghoul, I'm also writing an AU based on elements of it (there's a different storyline and not any TG character is so far planned to appear), called _For the World we Dream._ Updates will alternate between the two, and I hope I can update at least one of them every week.


	3. Chapter 3

Kuroko, even though he didn't show it, was in awe. Was that unique group of people what others referred to as the basketball prodigies called _Generation of Miracles_? Five teenagers who, be in a conscious course of actions or an unconscious one, managed to destroy their peers' dreams just by playing a sport?

 _ **(Kuroko enjoys basketball, not as much as his 'friend' Kagami is enamoured with it; but the thought of using something pure as the fondness of a sport is terrifying. The mind who came up with such concept is a terrifying one, indeed.)**_

"Akashi." he hears the tanned one, Aomine, if he recalls correctly, speak, snapping him out of his trance. "Are you sure he's the right one? It's another thing to not look like the thing and another not to act it at all."

Midorima started cleaning his glasses, as though something offensive got caught up in them. "I agree with the idiot for once, nanodayo."

A joyful chuckle, most uncharacteristic of the redhead reached his ears. It was the kind he'd expect from Kise rather than Akashi.

"I've never been a bad judge of character in the fifteen years I'm alive. What makes you think I'd be wrong with Tetsuya, Daiki?" he asked, but his choice of words was such that it left no way for a reply.

Seijuro took a step backwards so he could take a better look of the five at the same time. "Daiki, Ryota, Shintarou, and Atsushi. You are dismissed for now. You may stay the night or leave whenever you wish. I will send you Tetsuya's contact information, as well as hand him yours. I hope there are no objections to it."

"It's a drag going back to Tokyo now, anyways." Murasakibara muttered, walking out. "Hey, Aka-chin, I can borrow the kitchen, right?"

"I need sometime away from you imbeciles." Midorima all but whispered, eyeing Aomine and Kise mostly. "If you need me, Akashi, I'll be in the library."

"I'm tired, so I'll be going to sleep." Aomine announced to no one in particular.

"Me too!" was Kise's enthousiastic reply. "I have a photoshoot tomorrow morning, so I'll need to get up early!"

Akashi nodded in reply, seemingly giving them permission to do what they wanted to and, when they were finally gone, he turned his full attention to Kuroko, giving him a seemingly innocent smile.

 _ **(It obviously wasn't one.)**_

He could see the redhead was planning on talk to him, however, a phone ringing interrupted him, to which he let out an irritated sigh. His gaze turned to Kuroko, who nodded, seemingly allowing him to pick up the phone.

" _Sei-chan!"_ the person on the other side of the line called. _"What are you ignoring my calls for? Really now. If I didn't know you, I'd say you're turning into the old man! Well, Ei-chan seems to think that."_

"Don't compare me with Father, Reo."

" _I know, I know~"_ he heard the person on the other side of the line laughing mirthfully. _"You're too much like Shiori, both in appearance, and in personality. Well, both your parents have that stubbornness in them, no? It's only natural you'd be the same."_

It was obvious to Kuroko that the younger was beyond irritated. "And what exactly brought Mother into this conversation?"

" _Well, that's one of the main reasons I called. The old man wants you to find the new Empress soon instead of continuing acting like her."_

"He has no right!" the teenager yelled in frustration. _"Empress_ , above all, was my mother! If he didn't want me to deal with her _business_ then he shouldn't have tried to bed her in the first place! Save us all from the trouble he caused! _"_

He spared a glance towards Tetsuya, before resuming his talk, calmer than he was only a few seconds ago. "I've found someone with the potential of becoming _Empress._ However, until they're ready to assume the role to the fullest, I'll continue to it."

" _I see. Well, it's only right, after all."_ the person on the other side of the line agreed. _"Oh, and Sei-chan?"_

"Yes?"

" _Please be careful."_

"You too, Reo. We'll meet soon." he gave a promise, and ended the call, fully focusing on his guest. "There are quite a lot of questions in your mind." he observed, receiving a nod as a reply to something that wasn't a question in the first place.

"Your mother, was she...?"

He was faced with a pure, somewhat innocent smile that could remind one of a child caught in causing mischief. "I expected you to be familiar with the title of _Empress,_ Tetsuya. And yes, she was my mother." he paused for what it seemed to be an attempt at adding dramatic effect.

"When she was alive, my mother was in head of Japan's underworld. And you will receive her place."

 **(chapter end)**

Heehee, sorry for the delayed chapter! I hope you enjoyed it, as well Reo's appearance! Reo is trully precious to me, okay?

Emperor Eye be damned, I'm not sure _where_ exactly and _how_ to get there with this story (of course I love working on it), so I thought I'll make it official that updates will be irregular. Unlike _For the world we dream_ that, I started toying with that idea on April (during akakuro week, if I had to be precise), and started writing it on May, this came up seemingly out of nowhere. Almost nothing is planned, or stands on solid ground.

And I know I said there'll be no pairing, and I'll stay true to that. There will be, however, a lot of interaction between Akashi and Kuroko.

I think I mentioned how this is actually part of an AU list? Well, we're currently at 155 AUs, and I thought I could make it an AU challenge out of it.

This is the list: chibified/journal/2257047/100-Days-of-Basketball-Idiots-KuroBasu-AUs-masterlist/ You can choose one by either picking a number or choosing one AU you like, suggest a character/pairing and I'll give it a shot at writing it. I hope this one will be a trip both of us will enjoy!

As always, thank you wonderful reviewers! You make my day when I see you liking this story of mine so much!


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